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Mel Brooks's 1981, three-part comedy--set in the Stone Age, the Roman Empire, and the French Revolution--is pure guilty pleasure. Narrated by Orson Welles and featuring a lot of famous faces in guest appearances (beyond the official cast), the film opens well with Sid Caesar playing a caveman, then moves along to the unlikely but somehow hilarious juxtaposition of Caesar's soldiers (the other Caesar, not Sid) with pot humor, and ends on a dumb-funny note in the French bloodbath. This is a take-it-or-leave-it movie, and it works best if you're in a take-it-or-leave-it mood. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (85)

It's Good to Be Mel Brooks
When this film first appeared more than 20 years ago, it temporarily threatened to replace world history courses in schools, colleges, and universities. Of course, that didn't happen. Probably just as well, given the fact that screenwriter, producer, and director Mel Brooks never wrote, produced, and directed Part II and its eagerly-awaited portrayals of "Jews in Space" and "Hitler on Ice." There are historians' homes in which Brooks is still not welcome. In any event, what we have in Part I is a combination of five extended sketches: The Dawn of Man, The Stone Age, The Spanish Inquisition, The Bible, and The Future. Inevitably there are some gaps.

Brooks appears in several different roles while (in fact) portraying himself: Moses, Comicus, Torquemada, and King Lou. Other members of the Brooks Ensemble Company include Madeline Kahn (Empress Nympho), Cloris Leachman (Madame de Farge), Harvey Korman (Count de Monet), Ron Carey (Swiftus), Andreas Voutsinas (Béarnaise), and Shecky Green (Marcus Vindictus). Brooks has assembled a cast of thousands. The production values are remarkably good. However, as in other Brooks films such as Blazing Saddles and High Anxiety, the quality of the humor varies from Brilliant & Inspired (e.g. King Lou professing love of "the little people" while shooting at airborn peasants who have been launched as targets: "Pull!") to Oh No (e.g. Moses reducing the number of Commandments to Ten by dropping/breaking one of three tablets while descending Mount Sinai, and, Jesus becoming confused by use of his name as an expletive). Brooks is an incurable gagster and punster. More often than not, the humor in this film works. But when it doesn't....

Several clever touches. For example, beginning the film with a parody of 2001: A Space Odyssey, with Orson Welles providing the voice-over. Also, it is fun to play the equivalent of "Where's Waldo" by trying to spot familiar actors in supporting roles such as Bea Arthur (Clerk), Charlie Callas (Soothsayer), Jack Carter (Rat Vendor), Sid Caesar (Chief Caveman), John Gavin (Marche), Ronny Graham (Oedipus), Nigel Hawthorne (Official), John Hillerman (Rich Man), Hugh Hefner (Entrepreneur), Barry Levinson (Column Salesman), Spike Milligan (Monsieur Rimbaud), Howard Morris (Court Spokesman), Jan Murray (Nothing Vendor), and Henny Youngman (Chemist). As I said, a cast of thousands...if not more.

Brooks' best films, those most effectively developed, are The Producers and Young Frankenstein, the latter being a remarkably respectful version of several earlier films. All comics are thieves. The best comics steal from the best sources. I thought about that when I saw this film again recently, wondering if Brooks' History of the World -- Part I was in any way influenced by The Story of Mankind (1957), a film based on Henrik Willem Van Loon's bestseller. For purposes of parody, The Story of Mankind would be an excellent target of opportunity. Those among its diverse cast of thousands (if not more) include Charles Coburn (Hippocrates), Ronald Colman (The Spirit of Man), Cedric Hardwicke (High Judge), Dennis Hopper (Napoleon), Hedy Lamarr (Joan of Arc), Peter Lorre (Nero), Virginia Mayo (Cleopatra), Chico Marx (Monk), Harpo Marx (Isaac Newton), Groucho Marx (Peter Minuit), Agnes Moorehead (Elizabeth I), Vincent Price (The Devil), and Cesar Romero (Spanish Envoy). Whenever a list of the Ten Most Pretentious Movies Ever Made is formulated, The Story of Mankind is frequently and deservedly given serious consideration.

Despite its several flaws, The History of the World -- Part I remains a generally entertaining, at times hilarious film. Whenever I see it again, I feel eager anticipation as I await its strongest scenes, willing to endure its weakest meanwhile. To me at least, the previews for Part II (which conclude Part I) suggest why Brooks resembles the Little Girl with The Curl: "When she's good, she's very very good but when she's bad...."

Mel Brooks at his Bawdy Best
Mel Brooks is at the top of his game with this hilarious spoof on world history beginning with the Stone Age and touching on subjects all the way through the French Revolution. While much of the humor is far from sophisticated, it doesn't diminish the fact that the film is just plain funny!

Lots of comedic actors, great and small, make side-splitting appearances in the film, including Sid Ceasar, Harvey Korman, Dom DeLuise, Bea Arthur, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Jackie Mason, and Gregory Hines.

The beauty of Brooks' scathing spoofs of historical events and figures is that the humor is timeless, holding up just as well in 2004 as it did when the film was originally released in 1981. If you have never seen or heard of this film, rent or buy it now, as you have missed an iconic movie. I've even heard of European History professors using Brooks' wacky take on the Spanish Inquisition in their history classes.

When it comes to bawdy satire, Mel Brooks found it "good to be the King" in the 1970s and 80s!

written by David Laing, not Julia Laing
One of Mel Brook's finest movies, in this one, he sets out to parody history, from the Stone Age, to the French Revolution. The first time period is the Stone Age, where we see the first homosapien and homosexual marriage, and discover how music was invented. Next, in a very short bit, we see Moses coming down from a mountain with the 15 commandments, until he drops one slab, and it becomes the 10 commandments. The next era is the Roman Empire, where after Philatipis[or something like that] gets a gig to do comedy for Caescar, he offends, the emporer, so him and his new found friend must fight each other to the death, but instead stop fighting and try to escape from Rome. The 4th era is by far the funniest, and the most offensive, The Spanish Inquisition. So in a musical extravaganza, we see how the Catholics tried to convert the Jews to become Catholics, and in the last part, we behold the French Revolution, and one of the greatest lines in this movie. So, see this hilarious movie, but if you are easily offended, then do not see this. The only thing that aggravates me was that Brooks had a part 2 planned out, but it was never released. At the end of the movie, we get a preview of the unreleased History of The World part 2.

History has never been more hilarious.
I wasn't familiar with History of the World until someone recommended that I see it. I knew a little of who Mel Brooks was and had seen Young Frankenstein so I knew this might be good. Now I think it is one of the funniest movies ever, a genius spoof of world history troughout different period of time. You get to see prehistoric man invent art, and along with the first art came the first art critic. We see the real story behind Moses and the Ten Commandments. The best part to me was the part about the Roman times, when Comicus the stand up philosopher is introduced. I was laughing long and hard when Comicus gets a job as waiter at the Last Supper. Also spoofed are the Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution.

History of the World is a great movie that features a terrific cast including Mel Brooks, Gregory Hines, Madeline Kahn, Harvey Korman and Sid Caesar. There are others, but together they give an entertaining perspective into some of history's most important events. There are also countless quotes from the movie that will stick with you for a long time after you hear them. This is something I recommend seeing, as even after 23 years it still seems as fresh as ever with the humor it provides.

Nobody Expects the (Musical) Spanish Inquisition
Probably the success of MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN two years earlier was the inspiration for Mel Brooks' HISTORY OF THE WORLD - PART I (A year earlier Python/'Brian' probably also inspired the also lesser ripoff WHOLLY MOSES). One reason are many of the biblical spoofs in this episodic movie. A lot of this is pretty lame especially during the Dom Deluise as Nero sequence that seems to go on forever. The only funny thing to come out of this is the classic line "When you die at the Palace..you really die!". Included is a scene outside of the actual Las Vegas casino Ceasar's Palace with Roman citizens going into it as if it is actually in ancient Rome. The rest of this particular sequence seems to come right out of Richard Lester's/Zero Mostel's A FUNNY THING HAPPENED TO ME ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM only it is not very funny. There are a couple inspired gags (i.e. The Spanish Inquisition- the musical,Moses receiving the 15..er, 10 Commandments, and a tribute to Esther Williams/MGM musical aqua dancing extravaganzas featuring bathing beauty nuns) in the rest of the film, but they are not very memorable. Whereas Monty Python's 'BRIAN' was deemed sacrilegious (at least in 1979) and brilliantly irreverent, 'HISTORY' is just plain dumb. Brooks' seemed to lose his touch starting with this film and would continue with SPACEBALLS,ROBIN HOOD MEN IN TIGHTS and DRACULA DEAD AND LOVING IT etc. Overall, a general waste of celluloid,talent, and time. ... Read more

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Riding the strange '50s nostalgia wave that swept through America during the late 1970s (caused by TV shows like Happy Days and films like American Graffiti), Grease became not only the word in 1978, but also a box-office smash and a cultural phenomenon. Twenty years later, this entertaining film adaptation of the Broadway musical received another successful theatrical release, which included visual remastering and a shiny new Dolby soundtrack. For its video and laser disc re-release, Grease lovers can also now see it in the correct 2:35 to 1 Panavision aspect ratio, and see retrospective interviews with cast members and director Randal Kleiser. All these stylistic touches are essential to the film's success. Without the fabulously choreographed, widescreen musical numbers; vibrant colors; and unforgettably campy and catchy tunes (like "Greased Lightning," "Summer Nights," and "You're the One That I Want"), the film would have to rely on a silly, cliché-filled plot that we've seen hundreds of times. As it is, the episodic story about the romantic dilemmas experienced by a group of graduating high school seniors remains fresh, fun, and incredibly imaginative. The young, animated cast also deserves a lot of credit, bringing chemistry and energy to otherwise bland material. John Travolta, straight from his success in Saturday Night Fever, knows his sexual star power and struts, swaggers, sings, and dances appropriately; while Olivia Newton-John's portrayal of virgin innocence is the only decent acting she's ever done. And then there's Stockard Channing, spouting sexual double-entendres as Rizzo, the bitchy, raunchy leader of the Pink Ladies, who steals the film from both of its stars. Ignore the sequel at all costs. --Dave McCoy ... Read more

Reviews (221)

5 Star Movie Lowered (Slightly) By Disappointing DVD
I won't go into the plot here, because, let's face it, if you haven't seen Grease by now, you probably won't ever see it. And you are missing out on a really fun film. That is the secret to this movie's popularity. It's just plain fun! It doesn't have a really great script, none of the performancies (with the exception of Stockard Channing) is anything above run-of-the-mill, but it's got a lot of great, catchy songs, a very likeable cast, and is just a treat to watch again and again. I was disappointed by this DVD release though, because it's exactly the same as the laser disc, only smaller and you don't have to turn it over. The cast interviews at the end are four years old, and this is really just a delayed release of the 20th Anniversary Edition on DVD. And what fan of Grease needs a cheap, paper booklet of song lyrics? Believe me, we know them all by heart. Truly the most profitable and one of the most popular musicals ever made deserves a better DVD package. The fans certainly deserve it too, having waited so long for this. Boo! to Paramount for, apparently, wanting to wait and pick our pockets again some time down the road when they release the two-disc set with all the extras this movie should have. At least it's in widescreen, which is a totally different viewing experience for anyone who hasn't seen it letterboxed or on the big screen yet. The musical numbers have a much larger scope, with dancers and other action on the sides that had previously been cut off. You will be surprised how many previously unseen guys are on the bleachers with Danny and the gang for "Summer Nights". And to anyone who is planning to buy the full-frame DVD--shame on you! You are truly missing out.

You CAN right a movie about rock&roll!
Most people would think that you could'nt write a good movie about rock&roll. This movie sure proves them wrong. The songs are great, and the movie is great.
I said that the songs were a great part of the movie. Here they are.
1. Grease-5/0
2. Summer Nights-8/10
3. Hopelessly Devoted To You-3/10
4. You're The One That I Want- 10/10
5. Sandy-1/10
6. Beauty School Dropout-5/10
7. Look At Me, I'm Sandra D.-7/10
8. Greased Lightning-9/10
9. It's Raining On Prom Night-3/10
10. Alone at the Drive-In-Movie-1/10
11. Blue Moon-9/10
12. Rock "N" Role is Here To Stay-8/10
13. Those Magic Changes-10/10
14. Hound Dog-4/10
15. Born To Hand Jive-4/10
16. Tears On My Pillow-2/10
17. Mooning-2/10
18. Freddy My Love-0/10
19. Rock "N" Role Party Queen-8/10
20. There Are Worse Things I Could Do-3/10
21. Look At Me, I'm Sandra D.(Reprise)-5/10
22. We Go Togeter-10/10
23. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing-4/10
24 Grease(Reprise)-5/10

As you can see, there are some VERY bad songs, but for the most part, the songs are pretty good. The whole movie was even better than the songs. The whole idea of the movie is a senior high schooler comes to the U.S. and goes to a cheap high school. There, she runs into a guy she met in the summer, who is in a car gang that is against another car gang. Throughout the year, this girl ( her name is Sandy) and her friends deal with the guy(his name is Danny) and his friends. The movie pretty much told about the "typical" high scholl senior's problems, except in a more 60's background. The movie actually took place in the 70's. At the end, Danny's car gang beats the rival gang in a car race, and at the end of the movie, the whole gang of guys and girls gets back together without any problems at the end of the year. The movie is all in all VERY good. Buy it today.

Grease lightning!
(...)

Anyway, "Grease" is one of my favorite movies. It's just one of those timeless gems that will never die (can't say the same for the sequel, though). Every song is a joy and the film couldn't have been casted any better. John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing; all involved give indelibly charming performances. A lot of great films came out of the 70's (The Godfather, A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, Chinatown, Jaws, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, etc., etc...) but "Grease" is still able to hold it's own after all these years. A quintessential film to add to your collection.

As far as the DVD goes, well... it's typical of Paramount to stiff us with what could have been a solid release. If you take into account that almost everyone who buys the disc already knows all the songs and dialogue by heart, the studio could have done lots of fun things with the material. Alas, we only get a songbook (which is admittedly kinda cool) and a documentary. Oh, yeah. And a theatrical trailer. How rare. *scoffs*

A half-assed effort to bring "Grease" to a great medium notwithstanding, I'd highly recommend buying this.

"Summer lovin'... had me a bla-haaast..."

I love this movie
Firstly because it reminds me of a carefree and happy time in my life. I saw this in the summer of 1978 when I was 12 years old and the only thing I had to worry about was making sure I didn't have any overdue library books, keeping the lawn mowed and starting ninth grade in the fall. Secondly because there's some great pop music in this movie, _Hopelessy Devoted to You_ is one of the best pop songs about unrequited attraction ever written. Thirdly because of the subtext of this movie, the lesson this movie teaches you is that in order to get ahead you have to be a slut, just look at the way Olivia Newton John (who was 30 when this movie was made) turns from a good girl at the beginning of the movie into a leather trouser wearing slut at the end. Fourthly I love this movie because all of the actors in it are so obviously too old to be in high school. I figured as a kid that this was because the lead paint factory at the town of Rydell was dumping a lot of stuff into the water supply in those halcyon, pre-EPA days of the 1950s and the resulting heavy metal poisoning made the children of Rydell somewhat slow, which was why they were all still in high school even though they were in their late 20s and early 30s.

Greasy John isn't my cup of grease
As an Australian I find this movie extremely offensive. Why should Sandie have to change and become a greasy fat rude American. She should haved stay the way she was I reckon.

There's a line in this movie about eating sh*t...I agree. ... Read more

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Stanley Kramer's sprawling 1963 comedy about a search for buried treasure by at least a dozen people--all played by well-known entertainers of their day--is the kind of mass comedy that Hollywood hasn't made in many years. (Another example from around the same time is Blake Edwards's The Great Race.) After a number of strangers (including Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and others) witness a dying stranger (Jimmy Durante) identify the location of hidden money, a conflict-ridden hunt begins, watched over carefully by a suspicious cop (Spencer Tracy). The ensuing two and a half hours of mayhem has its ups and downs--some bits and performers are certainly funnier than others. But Kramer, who is better known for socially conscious, serious cinema (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?), is in a mood for broad comic characterization, and some of his jokes are so intentionally obvious (Durante literally kicks a bucket when he dies), they'd have a place in Airplane! Watch for lots of cameo appearances, including Jerry Lewis (who had called Kramer and asked him why he hadn't been invited to participate). --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (212)

Comedy For All Eternity
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a comedy for all eternity. This is one of those big box, big budget, long-running-time, cameo-loaded, expensive, broad-canvas farces of the 60's that I love so much. Released in 1962, this was one of Stanley Kramer's greatest and last movies. This award-winning movie is a timeless masterpiece for the whole family.

After a bouncy, splashy Saul Bass animated title sequence, the story begins with a brief car chase in the California desert. Bank robber Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) wrecks his car, and with his dying words reveals a secret about buried treasure to the seven strangers who stopped on the roadside. 'Look for the big W' in Santa Rosita, he says, and then he kicks the bucket.

After a brief attempt at cooperation, the treasure hunt is on and it's every man for himself, in four teams. Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett decide to take to the air but their pilot, Jim Backus, gets hammered on Old Fashioneds. Husband-and-wife Sid Caesar and Edie Adams can only find a biplane cropduster. The lone truck driver, Jonathan Winters, can't get gas. And his mother-in-law Ethel Merman fatally hampers Milton Berle, with his wife Dorothy Provine.

So all four teams scamper across the landscape, across the broad canvas of this movie, wound tight by desperate greed and calmly monitored by a Sergeant Culpepper, Spencer Tracy. This is the framing story for an amazing string of billed appearances and unbilled cameos so many that at last your senses are sort of dulled. Oh, it's Carl Reiner in the control tower. Oh, look, it's Stan Freberg, yeah. The best cameo, hands down, is Jerry Lewis, who comes barreling down Long Beach Boulevard in a moment of exuberant stupidity and runs over Spencer Tracy's hat.

Probably my favorite, I have so many, co-star was Terry Thomas who plays a vacationing Englishman in a rattling station wagon, who picks up Milton Berle. He's talkative. He prattles away (accurately) about why it is that the American male is positively preoccupied with booo-sums, and says things like, "I'll wager you anything you like, if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!" This sequence, within the context of the movie so far, has a single funny moment when this whole vast farce might come alive, find its voice, and this circus might make sense - Terry-Thomas finds the tone for the rest of the movie. I find it compelling that the aesthetic success of all this footage, all these appearances, all this thoroughly American spectacle, suddenly pivots around a few fussy syllables about breasts. But once the moment passes, Terry-Thomas is efficiently neutralized and dismissed by Ethel Merman, and on we go.

The array of challengers eventually reach Santa Rosita, and several unexplainably humorous events occur. These I will not reveal to you and allow you to view the movie on your own time. I must add though, that if you do see this movie, reserve several hours. Like most from its decade its LONG... VERY LONG... But allow me to assure you, you wont be disappointed.

Madness is Genius
Eight traveling vacationers witness the sudden car-crash and slow final death of con-man Smiler Grogan in the hills above Palm Desert, Cal.. Grogan's dying words reveal the secret location of $350,000 hidden in Santa Rosita Park, near San Diego. This sparks a wild, hectic race for the dough. Pure greed,buried treasure, and car crashes. It's all here. "It's a Mad,Mad,Mad, Mad World" was the most successful movie directed by ace Stanley Kramer. All of the famous television and film comics from 1963 appear in this wild comedy. Only Bob Hope is missing. The cast includes Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Jerry Lewis, Joe E. Brown, The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters, and Spencer Tracy. Ernest Gold composed an original booming, wonderful soundtrack you'll be humming for days. At two hours and 41 minutes, "Mad World" is too long, but an incredible cast and mad-cap action propel the story along. This new MGM DVD is presented in widescreen anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect. The colors are crisp and vibrant. The "Mad World" DVD includes an excellent 1991 documentary with all the major surviving cast members. There's also 1 hour of "out-takes", faded and damaged, from the original Cinerama 70mm release. And there's two trailers. The year 2001 produced an obvious remake of "Mad World" called "Rat Race", a modest hit. Stanley Kramer and Spencer Tracy made 4 classic films together. The last was the inspiring "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 1967. In ill health, sadly, Tracy died just days after shooting ended. Stanley Kramer himself died in Feb. 2001. His genius is now gone. His legacy lies before you.

It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad DVD
I would give this DVD 5 stars if all the movie was here, but it isn't, hence 3 stars. There's no excuse for this considering that no major restoration has been attempted here, the storage capabilities of DVDs are huge, and MGM has already released the full-length movie on VHS. The deleted scene feature is a mess. Watching the scenes seperately is tedious and not much fun. The least they could do would be to put the deleted scenes in the order that they appeared in the original film. The third and fourth scenes appear to be exactly the same as do others later on. Sometimes the scene appears the same only zoomed in. Others scenes have no sound. Some of the last scenes go on and on up to 10 minutes and contains everything that is included in the feature except for very minor snippets of dialogue. Sometimes you can't detect anything new, like in the money dividing proposal scene.

I can see why MGM would want to keep their pristine 35mm print whole and transfer that to DVD but perhaps they should have included a 2nd disc and a 2nd version that patched together all the missing scenes, no matter what condition, and reconstructed the film as best as they could to the longest originally released version.

MGM, when you finally "Special Edition" this movie offer a rebate with the proof of purchase from this inferior edition!

Best, Most Memorable Comedy Ever Made !!
I originally saw the movie in '63. I was 8. Dad started my Birthday party with it. After the movie, Dad drove the route of the Santa Monica portion of the car chase(yes, there really was a "Big W").
Just finished watching the movie on Turner TV. The narrator came on after the movie and said that THE ORIGINAL WAS 5 HOURS long(Just too much "good stuff"). The movie studio had it edited to the shortened current version of three hours.
Back in '63 it was a terrific movie-In '04 it is still a terrific movie.

An all star cast of comics, great comedy

Director: Stanley Kramer
Format: Color
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Video Release Date: September 26, 1995

Cast:

Spencer Tracy ... Capt. T.G. Culpeper
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump, DDS
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus
Mickey Rooney ... Ding 'Dingy' Bell
Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus
Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer
Terry-Thomas ... Lt.Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne
Jonathan Winters ... Lennie Pike
Edie Adams ... Monica Crump
Dorothy Provine ... Emeline Marcus-Finch
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... Second cab driver
Jim Backus ... Tyler Fitzgerald
Ben Blue ... Biplane pilot
Joe E. Brown ... Union official
Alan Carney ... Police sergeant
Chick Chandler ... Detective outside Chinese laundromat
Barrie Chase ... Sylvester's girlfriend
Lloyd Corrigan ... The Mayor
William Demarest ... Police Chief Aloysius
Andy Devine ... Sheriff of Crockett County
Selma Diamond ... Ginger Culpeper
Peter Falk ... Third cab driver
Norman Fell ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Paul Ford ... Col. Wilberforce
Stan Freberg ... Deputy sheriff
Louise Glenn ... Billie Sue Culpeper
Leo Gorcey ... First cab driver
Sterling Holloway ... Fire Chief
Edward Everett Horton ... Mr. Dinckler
Marvin Kaplan ... Irwin
Buster Keaton ... Jimmy the boatman
Don Knotts ... Nervous man
Charles Lane ... Airport manager
Mike Mazurki ... Miner
Charles McGraw ... Lt. Matthews
Cliff Norton ... Reporter
Zasu Pitts ... Switchboard operator Gertie
Carl Reiner ... Tower controller at Rancho Conejo
Madlyn Rhue ... Secretary Schwartz
Roy Roberts ... Policeman outside Irwin & Ray's Garage
Arnold Stang ... Ray
Nick Stewart ... Migrant truck driver
Joe DeRita ... Fireman
Larry Fine ... Fireman
Moe Howard ... Fireman
Sammee Tong ... Chinese laundryman
Jesse White ... Radio tower operator at Rancho Conejo
Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan
Roy Engel ... Patrolman/Police radio voice unit F-14
Nicholas Georgiade ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Stacy Harris ... Police radio voice unit F-7
Don C. Harvey ... Policeman in helicopter
Allen Jenkins ... Police officer
Tom Kennedy ... Traffic cop
Harry Lauter ... Police dispatcher
Ben Lessy ... George the steward
Jerry Lewis ... Man who runs over hat
Bob Mazurki ... Eddie (miner's son)
Jack Benny ... Man in car in desert
Eddie Ryder ... Air traffic control tower staffer
Paul Birch ... Policeman
Doodles Weaver ... Dinckler's Hardware Store clerk
Stanley Clements ... Detective in squad room
Bobo Lewis ... Pilot's wife
Minta Durfee ... Bit Part

Intended to be the comedy to end all comedies, with a cast including virtually all the name comedians at the time.

Jimmy Durante plays a guy who is in a fatal auto accident, but before he dies, tells 5 bystanders where there is $350,000 hidden under a "W", whuch leads to a chase to find the money.

Meanwhile, Capt. T.G. Culpeper (Spencer Tracy) is aware of the stolen money and he and his policemen observe the chase with interest through the desert, mountains, and along the California coast, with the contestants using aircraft, cars, trucks, a bicycle and every method of transportation in their attempt to be first to reach the money.

Tracy was ill when the film was shot, and so only worked four hours per day. The long shots and physical stuff was performed by stand-ins.

This is a fun movie. If there is a criticism, it is that the comedy is perhaps overdone. With so many top comedians, there is certainly no dearth of funny lines, pratfalls, and laughs--that's for sure.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

... Read more

Reviews (21)

An enchanting movie from start to finish.
The epitome of the "feel good" movie, "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" was the perfect Friday night family movie. We watched it 3 times in one day. Appropriate for younger children (there is one fight scene). What made this film work was the genuine love and compassion the main characters come to feel for each other. Wonderful.

Magical, musically entertaining, amusing and clean!!
The premise of this movie is quite unusual, five men pool their last few dollars to purchase a brilliant "ice cream" white suit that will empower them. Humorous, heartful, musical, silliness and action!

The men, Bien Azul, Martinez, Dominguez, Gomez and Daminos schedule the suit for an hour on the first night. Each takes his turn at wearing the suit, and reluctantly share it with the very filthy, smelly street urchin, as he contributed also.

They take extreme pride in the suit and the urchin must be bathed, hair cut, and he needs specific instructions: He is not to fall down, no standing under trees with birds in it, no drinking wine, no smoking, don't eat juicy tacos. One other request: don't go to the Red Rooster where the fat one, Ruby Escadrillo is because she would sit on his lap and crush the suit, put powder and lipstick on it and most of all she has a mean boyfriend "El Toro", the monster.

Well, the fun begins when he goes to the Red Rooster and does everything they told him not to do! The battle begins as they try to "protect" the beloved suit.

There are clever slow motion shots during the action and fighting at the Red Rooster. Entertaining, fun, clean movie!

This is an all star cast of talented Hispanic actors, Esai Morales, best known for "La Bamba", Edward James Olmos, Joe Montegna, Liz Torres, etc. There is plenty of music to fill this humorous movie. It's great for the entire family because it is clean and decent ...MzRizz

Nice movie
I really enjoyed this movie. Couldn't find the soundtrack anywhere... loved the songs. Very good movie. good movie.. is very funny

A Celebration of Life!
I refuse to even contemplate living in a world in which Ray Bradbury does not exist. For within Bradbury's mind resides an entire universe filled with metaphor and dreams; galaxies teeming with life and love and poetry, with tales told and untold of such things as this world has never known and would never know, except for that magic that flows from his heart, through his brain and out through his fingertips, where they are born on the keys of his typewriter. And within that very same, ever fertile imagination, that wellspring of creativity, the words were formed, in a rush! and a swirl!, then tempered on Bradbury's mental forge of the fantastic, that ultimately came together and burst! forth as "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit," a transporting film directed by Stuart Gordon.

Gomez (Joe Mantegna) lives in the barrio; a poor man, except in spirit, for Gomez has dreams, ah, such dreams! of something better, of a better life, of the magic that can happen if you but want it badly enough and will it to! And Gomez knows how to make that magic happen. There is a store, a certain clothing store, and in the window there is a suit; not just any suit, but a magnificent white suit, as white as the clouds, as white as the snow that falls in the mountains. Oh, such a suit! The kind of a suit that can make the man who wears it anything he wants to be. And the price? The cost of this bottle holding a genie who can grant your every wish, your every desire? $100.00!

Gomez has $20.00...

But, he has a plan! If he can only find four others like himself-- others with dreams but no means-- and of equal size and weight (and, of course, $20.00), they could buy the suit together, and share the magic! Ah, such a plan for such a suit! For one day at a time, taking turns, they could each wear the magnificent suit that's as shiny and bright and as white as ice cream; and for a time be able to realize their dreams. And so, very quickly, or even sooner, at that very moment! Gomez puts his plan into action, driven on by the vision he holds in his mind's eye of himself, wearing that wonderful ice cream suit.

Ray Bradbury wrote the screenplay for this film, which he adapted from his own play of the same title, and this is vintage Bradbury. Under the auspices of director Gordon, the film successfully captures the very essence of Bradbury the writer, Bradbury the poet, Bradbury the genius, Bradbury the beautiful dreamer; this man from Illinois, who walks with kings and dines with gods, and dares to dream such dreams. More than a film, this is a celebration of life; an acknowledgement of the joys of living, captured exuberantly in music and song, poetry, performance and, of course, in Bradbury's words-- those exquisite, noble, transcendent words, born of some special, personal, inner muse-- that flow so splendidly in time with the rhythm of his heart and conjure up the images of his singular vision. All of which Gordon manages to grasp, grab hold of and transfer so resplendently to the silver screen.

The performances are first rate, beginning with Mantegna as the indomitable Gomez, who believes he can rule the world when wearing that wonderful suit; Esai Morales, as Dominguez, who dreams of enchanting beautiful women with his music and songs, and knows he can with the suit; Gregory Sierra, as Villanazul, who looks to the suit for the words of hope and encouragement he can take to his people; Clifton Gonzalez-Gonzalez, as Martinez, hoping that the suit will attract the girl of his dreams; and Edward James Olmos, as Vamanos, who just wants to have a good time! Respectively, their portrayals are alive, and with their collective breath, they bring this film to life, as well.

The supporting cast includes Liz Torres (Ruby Escadrillo), Sid Caesar (Sid), Howard Morris (Leo), Lisa Vidal (Ramona), Mike Moroff (Toro) and Mercedes Ortega as the beautiful Celia Obregon. From the opening credits, awash with dazzling color and brilliant imagery, "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" is an exhilarating, unique treasure to be embraced with the heart; a masterpiece of delights to be watched again and again. And most importantly, it honors the man who created it all, Ray Bradbury; a man who is, himself, invested with the same kind of life and joy his film brings to the screen. It's a fitting tribute to the inimitable Bradbury, Purveyor of Happiness, Magistrate of Joy.

--Then through an open window blew
the winds of night, and creatures,
dark they were and golden-eyed;
and calling to the Son of Kong they whispered
"Something wicked this way comes!"
And then, a sound of thunder!
She rises! She rises!
And from twenty thousand fathoms came
the dragon,
as if summoned by his master from the deeps;
and the Man from Illinois
held his sword above the crowd,
the blue flame cracked and sparked
and leapt into our bodies! then,
"Farewell, my friends," said he
as on the dragon's back he mounted,
"Live forever!"
"Live forever!"
Live forever...

(From the poem, "Bradbury," by JH Clues)

great movie & great music !
5 guys pour their money together for an icecream-white suit and take their turns wearing it, creating 5 sub-stories of how these guys gaining their magics from the suit and use their magics. The movie is slow tempo and lay-back, more like a brazilian or spanish movie. And that it has no hip-hop, techno beats but salsa and spanish guiatar. Too bad they didn't release the soundtrack for this movie. ... Read more

Reviews (212)

Comedy For All Eternity
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a comedy for all eternity. This is one of those big box, big budget, long-running-time, cameo-loaded, expensive, broad-canvas farces of the 60's that I love so much. Released in 1962, this was one of Stanley Kramer's greatest and last movies. This award-winning movie is a timeless masterpiece for the whole family.

After a bouncy, splashy Saul Bass animated title sequence, the story begins with a brief car chase in the California desert. Bank robber Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) wrecks his car, and with his dying words reveals a secret about buried treasure to the seven strangers who stopped on the roadside. 'Look for the big W' in Santa Rosita, he says, and then he kicks the bucket.

After a brief attempt at cooperation, the treasure hunt is on and it's every man for himself, in four teams. Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett decide to take to the air but their pilot, Jim Backus, gets hammered on Old Fashioneds. Husband-and-wife Sid Caesar and Edie Adams can only find a biplane cropduster. The lone truck driver, Jonathan Winters, can't get gas. And his mother-in-law Ethel Merman fatally hampers Milton Berle, with his wife Dorothy Provine.

So all four teams scamper across the landscape, across the broad canvas of this movie, wound tight by desperate greed and calmly monitored by a Sergeant Culpepper, Spencer Tracy. This is the framing story for an amazing string of billed appearances and unbilled cameos so many that at last your senses are sort of dulled. Oh, it's Carl Reiner in the control tower. Oh, look, it's Stan Freberg, yeah. The best cameo, hands down, is Jerry Lewis, who comes barreling down Long Beach Boulevard in a moment of exuberant stupidity and runs over Spencer Tracy's hat.

Probably my favorite, I have so many, co-star was Terry Thomas who plays a vacationing Englishman in a rattling station wagon, who picks up Milton Berle. He's talkative. He prattles away (accurately) about why it is that the American male is positively preoccupied with booo-sums, and says things like, "I'll wager you anything you like, if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!" This sequence, within the context of the movie so far, has a single funny moment when this whole vast farce might come alive, find its voice, and this circus might make sense - Terry-Thomas finds the tone for the rest of the movie. I find it compelling that the aesthetic success of all this footage, all these appearances, all this thoroughly American spectacle, suddenly pivots around a few fussy syllables about breasts. But once the moment passes, Terry-Thomas is efficiently neutralized and dismissed by Ethel Merman, and on we go.

The array of challengers eventually reach Santa Rosita, and several unexplainably humorous events occur. These I will not reveal to you and allow you to view the movie on your own time. I must add though, that if you do see this movie, reserve several hours. Like most from its decade its LONG... VERY LONG... But allow me to assure you, you wont be disappointed.

Madness is Genius
Eight traveling vacationers witness the sudden car-crash and slow final death of con-man Smiler Grogan in the hills above Palm Desert, Cal.. Grogan's dying words reveal the secret location of $350,000 hidden in Santa Rosita Park, near San Diego. This sparks a wild, hectic race for the dough. Pure greed,buried treasure, and car crashes. It's all here. "It's a Mad,Mad,Mad, Mad World" was the most successful movie directed by ace Stanley Kramer. All of the famous television and film comics from 1963 appear in this wild comedy. Only Bob Hope is missing. The cast includes Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Jerry Lewis, Joe E. Brown, The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters, and Spencer Tracy. Ernest Gold composed an original booming, wonderful soundtrack you'll be humming for days. At two hours and 41 minutes, "Mad World" is too long, but an incredible cast and mad-cap action propel the story along. This new MGM DVD is presented in widescreen anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect. The colors are crisp and vibrant. The "Mad World" DVD includes an excellent 1991 documentary with all the major surviving cast members. There's also 1 hour of "out-takes", faded and damaged, from the original Cinerama 70mm release. And there's two trailers. The year 2001 produced an obvious remake of "Mad World" called "Rat Race", a modest hit. Stanley Kramer and Spencer Tracy made 4 classic films together. The last was the inspiring "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 1967. In ill health, sadly, Tracy died just days after shooting ended. Stanley Kramer himself died in Feb. 2001. His genius is now gone. His legacy lies before you.

It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad DVD
I would give this DVD 5 stars if all the movie was here, but it isn't, hence 3 stars. There's no excuse for this considering that no major restoration has been attempted here, the storage capabilities of DVDs are huge, and MGM has already released the full-length movie on VHS. The deleted scene feature is a mess. Watching the scenes seperately is tedious and not much fun. The least they could do would be to put the deleted scenes in the order that they appeared in the original film. The third and fourth scenes appear to be exactly the same as do others later on. Sometimes the scene appears the same only zoomed in. Others scenes have no sound. Some of the last scenes go on and on up to 10 minutes and contains everything that is included in the feature except for very minor snippets of dialogue. Sometimes you can't detect anything new, like in the money dividing proposal scene.

I can see why MGM would want to keep their pristine 35mm print whole and transfer that to DVD but perhaps they should have included a 2nd disc and a 2nd version that patched together all the missing scenes, no matter what condition, and reconstructed the film as best as they could to the longest originally released version.

MGM, when you finally "Special Edition" this movie offer a rebate with the proof of purchase from this inferior edition!

Best, Most Memorable Comedy Ever Made !!
I originally saw the movie in '63. I was 8. Dad started my Birthday party with it. After the movie, Dad drove the route of the Santa Monica portion of the car chase(yes, there really was a "Big W").
Just finished watching the movie on Turner TV. The narrator came on after the movie and said that THE ORIGINAL WAS 5 HOURS long(Just too much "good stuff"). The movie studio had it edited to the shortened current version of three hours.
Back in '63 it was a terrific movie-In '04 it is still a terrific movie.

An all star cast of comics, great comedy

Director: Stanley Kramer
Format: Color
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Video Release Date: September 26, 1995

Cast:

Spencer Tracy ... Capt. T.G. Culpeper
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump, DDS
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus
Mickey Rooney ... Ding 'Dingy' Bell
Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus
Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer
Terry-Thomas ... Lt.Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne
Jonathan Winters ... Lennie Pike
Edie Adams ... Monica Crump
Dorothy Provine ... Emeline Marcus-Finch
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... Second cab driver
Jim Backus ... Tyler Fitzgerald
Ben Blue ... Biplane pilot
Joe E. Brown ... Union official
Alan Carney ... Police sergeant
Chick Chandler ... Detective outside Chinese laundromat
Barrie Chase ... Sylvester's girlfriend
Lloyd Corrigan ... The Mayor
William Demarest ... Police Chief Aloysius
Andy Devine ... Sheriff of Crockett County
Selma Diamond ... Ginger Culpeper
Peter Falk ... Third cab driver
Norman Fell ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Paul Ford ... Col. Wilberforce
Stan Freberg ... Deputy sheriff
Louise Glenn ... Billie Sue Culpeper
Leo Gorcey ... First cab driver
Sterling Holloway ... Fire Chief
Edward Everett Horton ... Mr. Dinckler
Marvin Kaplan ... Irwin
Buster Keaton ... Jimmy the boatman
Don Knotts ... Nervous man
Charles Lane ... Airport manager
Mike Mazurki ... Miner
Charles McGraw ... Lt. Matthews
Cliff Norton ... Reporter
Zasu Pitts ... Switchboard operator Gertie
Carl Reiner ... Tower controller at Rancho Conejo
Madlyn Rhue ... Secretary Schwartz
Roy Roberts ... Policeman outside Irwin & Ray's Garage
Arnold Stang ... Ray
Nick Stewart ... Migrant truck driver
Joe DeRita ... Fireman
Larry Fine ... Fireman
Moe Howard ... Fireman
Sammee Tong ... Chinese laundryman
Jesse White ... Radio tower operator at Rancho Conejo
Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan
Roy Engel ... Patrolman/Police radio voice unit F-14
Nicholas Georgiade ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Stacy Harris ... Police radio voice unit F-7
Don C. Harvey ... Policeman in helicopter
Allen Jenkins ... Police officer
Tom Kennedy ... Traffic cop
Harry Lauter ... Police dispatcher
Ben Lessy ... George the steward
Jerry Lewis ... Man who runs over hat
Bob Mazurki ... Eddie (miner's son)
Jack Benny ... Man in car in desert
Eddie Ryder ... Air traffic control tower staffer
Paul Birch ... Policeman
Doodles Weaver ... Dinckler's Hardware Store clerk
Stanley Clements ... Detective in squad room
Bobo Lewis ... Pilot's wife
Minta Durfee ... Bit Part

Intended to be the comedy to end all comedies, with a cast including virtually all the name comedians at the time.

Jimmy Durante plays a guy who is in a fatal auto accident, but before he dies, tells 5 bystanders where there is $350,000 hidden under a "W", whuch leads to a chase to find the money.

Meanwhile, Capt. T.G. Culpeper (Spencer Tracy) is aware of the stolen money and he and his policemen observe the chase with interest through the desert, mountains, and along the California coast, with the contestants using aircraft, cars, trucks, a bicycle and every method of transportation in their attempt to be first to reach the money.

Tracy was ill when the film was shot, and so only worked four hours per day. The long shots and physical stuff was performed by stand-ins.

This is a fun movie. If there is a criticism, it is that the comedy is perhaps overdone. With so many top comedians, there is certainly no dearth of funny lines, pratfalls, and laughs--that's for sure.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

... Read more

Amazon.com

Too often, sequels to popular films simply rehash the original film;call it the carbon-copy syndrome. Grease 2 suffers from no such malady, having almost nothing to do with the original film. Sure, it focuses on teens at Rydell High, the imaginary school from the first film, which starred John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. But other than a few of the teachers, all of the characters are new and so are the songs--and more's the pity. By the time Grease hit the big screen, it already had had almost a decade as a theatrical musical, more than enough time to hone its mock-rock & roll score. But this sequel, which stars among others a then-unknown Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell Caulfield, and Lorna Luft (Judy Garland's daughter), has music that's neither fish nor fowl, neither rock nor Broadway. Meanwhile, the plot is a reversal of the first film, in which a cool guy fell for a square girl. In this one, the square is newcomer Caulfield, who catches the eye of tough girl Pfeiffer and her Pink Lady gang. The appearance of such pseudo-stars of the '50s, like Tab Hunter, is supposed to lend a nostalgic kick, but let's just say that Grease 2 slides almost instantly into obscurity. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (128)

Let's "DO IT" for our country!!!!
When all you had is cable and South Texas HOT sun during the summer, a cool house and the hollow, fun, cheese lyrics of grease 2 kept you entertained. As you pop this DVD into your player, you are quickly reminded why you love to hate this movie and why as much as you hate it, you still can't keep the lyrics out of your head!
The DVD transfer does a decent job in capturing the base of the singing trio in "Mr. Sandman" in the shower, "Reproduction" (Where does the pollen go?) and the bike on "Who's that guy?". The blacks in this particular scene do NOT dissapoint. The visual quality is close to "movie-like" you feel transported back to the 80's and want to solve a rubiks cube while you watch the movie.
The highs in Johnnys Song "Walk, Talk like T birds" are GREAT! You want to see Michelle Phipher stradle a ladder with a phalic tree under her or see her dance and stradle the wind, in the courtyard while everyone ignores her crazy teen ways, this DVD delivers this GREAT cheesy 80's movie and puts it into a GREAT FORMAT! C-O-O-L. . . R-I-D-E-R!

I LOVE GREASE 2!!
I think part of the reason I love this movie so much is because I grew up on this version never seeing the original Grease until after this one. I love this movie! Perhaps also because I had a big crush on Maxwell Caulfield's charactrer "Michael" so that made it all the more enjoyable for me to watch but I loved the soundtrack too, "Who's that guy" when Michael first appears at the bowling alley in his leather clothes on his new motorcycle, or "Cool Rider" the song that Michelle Pfiefer's character "Stephanie" sang to let him know he had to be a motorcycle rider before she could even give him the time of day. Or the song at the end, "We'll be together" makes me smile everytime I hear it, and I love the song "Love will turn back the hands of time" at the talent show when "Stephanie" spaces out thinking of her mystery "cool" rider who had since swept her off her feet. I think I rented this movie atleast 3 times a week from when I was 7 years old till I was 10 (back when you could only rent for a day at a time), let's just say it drove my parents crazy but I didn't want to watch anything else, finally they bought it for me when it went down in price and now I am anxious for it to be released on DVD because my VHS copy is rather played out because I watched it constantly. I always stop to watch this movie no matter what I am doing if it comes on tv and it never fails that when I just watched my VHS copy it comes on! But if anyone ever finds out it's coming out on DVD please LET ME KNOW! I think everyone should atleast give this movie a chance and pretend you had never seen Grease cause I hadn't seen it until a year after I had watched Grease 2 a hundred times and I wasn't expecting anything, I expect the first to be different since I first saw the sequel so for me, Grease is not as interesting to me, I enjoy Grease 2 far more!! Give it a try, hope you enjoy it, for those who love Grease I can see that it might not live up to what you expected but don't expect too much and give it a good playing and just enjoy it for it's comedy, high school romance, and soundtrack that some people don't like but I love it and I think a lot of the songs are highly enjoyable. thanks.

"Who's that guy?" Who cares!
Tying "Life is Beautiful" for proof of miracles through movies, it is indeed a true miracle that Michelle Pfeiffer ever found work again after starring in this mess. Featuring such catchy ditties as "Who's That Guy?" and "We're Doin' It For Our Country," this was THE movie that started the stigma: "Sequels always suck compared to the original." Of course, this movie is well beyond suck; it blows.

"Grease" is the word again!
Yes,"grease" is the word again in GREASE 2. I could tell you why the sequel to 1978's highest-grossing film was disappointing. There's an entirely new senior class,set in 1961,two years after the original Grease gang graduated from Rydell High School. That means this class were sophomores during the original Grease era,unseen of course. This was Michelle Pfeiffer's first starring film. She appears opposite Maxwell Caufield,a foreign exchange student from Australia who becomes a T-Bird. Pfeiffer,is a Pink Lady of course. Those who returned for the sequel are Didi Conn as Frenchy who had dropped out and come back to repeat the 12th grade. Eve Arden as Rydell High's principal and Sid Caesar as the phys. ed. instructor. One memorable scene is the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies at a bowling alley singing,"We're gonna score tonight!"(sorry,I don't know the song title). Pfeiffer contributes her singing vocals to the soundtrack album on COOL RIDER. Another reason why this film flopped:it didn't even feature a reprise of GREASE,the theme song from the first film,performed by Frankie Valli and written by ex-Bee Gee Barry Gibb. The soundtrack was enitirely original. Imagine John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John,the stars of the first film,paying a visit to Rydell High in this film. This film could have gotten mixed reviews by the critics if that had happened. Since this film wasn't so great,there were no more sequels.

A musical with no good music..
This movie is not so far below the original on a dramatic level. And the dance sequences often surpass those in the original film for complexity and ambition, especially the opening one. Yes, it's a contrived Juvie D. romance about a straight-laced character trying to connect with a rougher edged hipster, but so was the original. Yes, the 'comedy' seems forced and added on, but that was true in the original too. Simply put, the original was a pretty weak, contrived lightweight of a movie. That is, when nobody was singing. The sequel -call it Grease 2: The Next Class, or Frenchy Gets a Two Picture Deal - is even more contrived and weighs less, despite a knowing, sharp edged performance by Michelle Pfeiffer (the only reason this thing still exists on video). But success or failure for any musical depends on ... drum roll ... THE MUSIC! Even the second rank stuff in the first picture (eg. Stranded at the Drive-in) is pretty tuneful and memorable. The songs in the sequel are so bad ("...Let's Bowl, Let's Bowl, Let's Rock and Roll!..." that they are improved by watching with the sound off. Even the show-stopper at the end sung by Michelle is pretty worthless, and it is the only number other than the opener that can be heard without suffering intelligence loss. The original was a huge hit and the sequel bombed. The soundtrack from the original was a huge hit spawning several top 40 radio hits. Nobody bought and no radio station played ANYTHING from the sequel. See a pattern? ... Read more

Description

Alby Sherman is a man with a deli and a dream.He's looking to sell his greasy spoon in Brooklyn and buy a swanky Manhattan restaurant.His Uncle Benjamin will lend him the money, but only on the condition that Alby dump Elizabeth, his non-Jewish girlfriend, and marry one of the faith.Now Alby has to choose between his business and a dish who's definitely not on the menu. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Old Timers Shine
This film might have been the swan song for it's main characters; Gould, Hemmingway, Winters and Sid Ceaser. Incedently, a wonderful performance by Burt Young. Perhaps casting could have come up with a more appropriate shixa than Margaux Hemingway. Carol kane's character is a little to "pushed", fault the screen writer.

O.K. the film is frantic and perhaps overplayed but certain individual scenes were wonderful. A former Brooklyn boy like me especially enjoyed the scenes around Coney Island and the family squabble, in the new restaurant, is a gem.

Don't recall this movie ever being distributed to the theaters, perhaps the potential distributors thought it to "ethnic' if you get my drift. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

One of Mel Brooks's weaker vehicles, this 1976 feature finds a movie producer (Brooks) deciding that the public is ready for the silent film form again. Reasonably ambitious and promising, the film ultimately doesn't do for silent cinema what Brooks did for atmospheric horror (by reviving it while parodying it) in Young Frankenstein. Lots of famous faces pass through Silent Movie, to varying effect. Perhaps the best joke in the movie is the one performer who actually has a line of dialogue: mime Marcel Marceau. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Brooks, Chaplin, Keaton????
Mel Brooks' homage to silent movies isn't nearly as funny or clever as the movies it aims at. I'm a long time Brooks admirer. He's the reason I wanted to become a filmmaker. But,"Silent Movie" is one of the few movies I stay away from. I'll give the movie some credit. It does have a great cast cast; Marty Feldman (Marty Eggs), Dom DeLuise (Dom Bell), Bernadette Peters (Vilma Kaplan), Sid Caesar (Studio Chief), Harold Gould (Engulf) Ron Carey (Devour) and cameos by Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman, Anne Bancroft (It's no suprise to find her in this movie, since she is after all Brooks' wife.) James Caan, Liza Minnelli, and Marcel Marceau (His one scene is an absolute highlight!). If the cast wasn't enough, as with any Brooks movie there is going to be laughs, how many depends on the movie. And this one offers a few. The scenes that really make me dislike this film are the scenes with Brooks, Feldman, and Deluise driving around in their car. It's these scenes that I feel slow the movie up. Whenever the movie starts to carry some energy, we see them in the car in the very next scene! For those who don't know, this movie is about a once great director (Brooks) who was ruined due to drinking. After some time away from movies he tries to make a comeback. His grand idea is to make a...you guessed it...a silent movie. After Sid Caesar warns him that slapstick is dead, and as soon as he's done saying that, he falls out of his chair and flies across the room, proving to us, that yes, slapstick is dead! Caesar won't hear of making a silent movie, even though his studio needs all the help in can get before a conglomerate "Engulf & Devour" (who's tagline is "our hands are in everything") buys the studio. After Brooks suggest what if he gets big stars to act in the film, the studio chief soon realizes that with big stars, the film could make big money, and so he agrees to let Brooks make his film. This all sound like it could be a good funny movie, don't you think? But, it's because of those Brooks, Feldman, and DeLuise "car scenes" I'm unable to suggest anyone renting or buying this. If you insist on buying it, my favorite moments are Brooks and Bancroft's scene together,the hospital scene with Caesar (That one scene offers the biggest laugh in my opinion)and the first time the executives at "Engulf & Devour" first see a picture of Peters, ONLY Brooks would of thought of what you see in that scene. A hell of a lot better then most comedies being made today, but that's not saying much when films by Adam Sandler are being released. I don't know about you, but if I have to pick between Mel Brooks and Adam Sandler, get "Blazing Saddles" in the vcr ready to go lol. ** 1\2 out of *****

"You bad boy"
It's not as cohesive or funny as YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN or THE PRODUCERS, but SILENT MOVIE has plenty to offer. A wild romp that parodies the film business and the all but lost art of creating silent films, SILENT MOVIE stars Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, and Dom Deluise as a trio of film makers who vow to save their studio by making a new silent film with major stars. Many conventions of silent films are spoofed, such as how the right title card can alter the meaning of a scene (the title of this review is from one such card). Several stars (such as Burt Reynolds and Paul Newman) seem to enjoy parodying themselves, and Anne Bancroft's tango with our heroes is a standout. Harold Gould is the epitome of blackhearted villany and Sid Ceaser contributes some of his trademark pantomime as the neurotic studio chief. Best of all is Marty Feldman; with his wirey body, elastic face, and, of course, those eyes, Feldman looks as if he stepped out of 1920's of Mack Sennett into the 1970's of Mel Brooks. He steals many a scene (subtly or otherwise) in SILENT MOVIE.

Can't see the time for this being released on DVD
This is a classic Mel Brooks movie. Mel is genial, a very talented producer and an extraordinary actor, he and his pals
Dom DeLuis and Marty Freeman (that's how he is called I think)
make a riot and performed a lot of scenes where I literally fell
of my bed laughing. Can not understand why is not on DVD. I have
a collection on DVD of classic and this is on my whising list
(along with High Anxiety, another Brooks classic,and Foul Play).
Really enjoyed how they persuade Burt Reynolds, Paul Newman
and even Marcel Marceau to be a part of a movie project Mel Fun
had. Another highlight of this movie is Sid Caesar performance.
Excellent. Let's see if the wait is not that long.

MEL USE YOUR INFLUENCE AND PUT THIS ON DVD
I love this movie. Its silent of voice but not of music. John Morris' score is wonderfully crafted. Its funny because Mel Brooks is a GODDAMN COMEDIC GENIUS. And its a movie because it deserved to be in the the theater.NOW FOR MY GRIPE. WHYYYY OH WHYYYY ISN'T THIS MOVIE ON DVD.If the saner heads of who ever it is that decides what goes to DVD puts this one out I hope it's in TRUE WIDESCREEN like BLAZING SADDLES and HISTORY OF THE WORLD I'm also waiting for HIGH ANXIETY,ROBIN HOOD M.I.T. and DRACULA DEAD AND LOVING IT.AND MAYBE JUST MAYBE THEY'LL REISSUE YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN AND SPACEBALLS in TRUE WIDESCREEN I dont have an alleged 16x9 widescreen tv. Squashed screen is the more approapiate term.Sooo.. TO ALL DVD MAKERS STOP MAKING YOUR DVDS TO ACCOMODATE THIS FALSE FORMAT. maybe I wasn't helpful with the movie review but I know my other info was crucially helpful.

This Underappreciated Gem Really Should Be on DVD!
Silent Movie is my favorite Mel Brooks movie and I think it is very underrated. I see that some reviewers didn't enjoy the silly humor in this movie but I love it and the jokes and gags never fail to cheer me up when I'm not feeling good but of course it's a wonderful movie to watch anytime! It is both a spoof of and a homage to silent movies and stars Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman and Dom Deluise as well as a lot of cameo apperences from some well known actors and entertainers and I really want to see Silent movie transferred to DVD as my video is wearing out. A widescreen editon DVD would be very nice! ... Read more

Description

Best known for his role as the 'Pink Panther'; this was Peter Sellers last film. Sellers plays two roles - the evil Fu Manchu and his nemesis, Scotland Yard's Nayland Smith. Manchu is celebrating his 168th birthday when one of his assistants spills the last of his anti-aging potion. He sends his assistants out to gather the materials needed to make more potion - including the Star of Leningrad Diamond. This alerts the authorities who set up a plan to get Manchu to kidnap a decoy Queen of England. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

OH MY GOSH!
this is unbelivabley MY GRANDFATHER!!!!!!!!! amaxzing isn't it, but sometime he scares me, this is an amazing film, I am not a bads person but someitme i have bad plots as well, this film has the best camera affect, best makeup (look at manchus face, hes screaming "damn im sexy"), you cant deny his amazing looks wich i picked up frum him, AMASING!

a diabolically criminally funny spoof
THE FIENDISH PLOT OF DR. FU MANCHU [hereinafter "Fu"] is a diabolically, criminally funny spoof of the preceding Fu villain movies. The opening scene was foretelling. Sellers, as a vintage Fu, is celebrating his 168th birthday. His crowd of sinister lackeys are singing "Happy Birthday." Fu calls for his life sustaining elixer to have a swig which would carry him over for another year. The elixer is brought into the chamber by an extremely familiar servant. This servant . . . uh, er let's call him Kato for want of a better name . . . well his robe catches fire and he douses the flame with all of the elixer. Now, Fu must replace the diamond ingredient elixer by stealing a couple of rare diamonds. After stealing one diamond, the action swings into a Chinese Fire Drill version of Pink Panther. To stop Fu, retired agent Nyland Smith, played by Oriental expert Sellers, is brought out of retirement. An FBI agent, Joe Capone played by Sid Caesar, becomes part of the Scotland Yard scenery. It was his job to belittle the Brits and draw his gun on cue. Agent Smith decides that Fu will kidnap the Royal Family; that they needed doubles to perform Royalty's civic functions. Those doubles were recruited from the police force and had to audition for the role. As auditioning Constable Alice Rage, Helen Mirren, did an a la Shirley Temple tap-dance number, singing "On the Good Ship Lollipop." I nearly choked on my popcorn from laughing. She won the role of Queen. Later in the film, I doubled up while she sang, "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow-Wow." In a scene memorable of Jules Verne--or Bond for that matter--Agent Smith flies his cottage by balloon entitled, "Spirit of Wiltshire." This was Seller's final movie. Too bad that many of his fans, including myself, missed this very funny one at the box office. And, for sure, Helen Mirren was a Wow.

The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
VHS in Spanish with subtitles and wasn't what I ordered. It was ordered new. VERY UNHAPPY with Video.

Campy, Satirical and Fiendishly Funny!
This movie is one that will either become one of your favorites or will cause you to ask yourself why it was even made. The difference lies in your previous exposure to the "Fu Manchu" mystique. For those of us who have previously read of the "Yellow Peril" and the "Vast Underground Conspiracy" the movie is a wildly funny romp through a fictional world where every oriental is working to enslave the human race. For those who have not read the original works by Sax Rohmer many of the most hilarious scenes and comments will slip by unnoticed. It is still a very entertaining movie, however, and is well worth watching, if only for the outrageously campy ending.

Very Funny. Fine Family Fun!
My parents hate this movie, and I don't know why. Peter Sellers is an actor beyond compare. This movie is one of the best evermade. It's a little campy but that's okay because that's what was intended! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Hope it comes out on DVD
I own several other versions (animated) of this story, and this acted is the best of them all. Hope it comes out on DVD.

Sid Caesar Stars In This FANTASTIC Cannon Movie Tale!
Cannon Movie Tales: The Emperor's New Clothes is an amazing musical film starring Sid Caesar & Clive Revill. Never have I ever viewed such a fantastic film! Such songs as "Love Song" and "The End Credits" are truely irresistible. Nobody should ever miss this Cannon Movie Tale because it is too good. BUY IT TODAY! ... Read more

Reviews (221)

5 Star Movie Lowered (Slightly) By Disappointing DVD
I won't go into the plot here, because, let's face it, if you haven't seen Grease by now, you probably won't ever see it. And you are missing out on a really fun film. That is the secret to this movie's popularity. It's just plain fun! It doesn't have a really great script, none of the performancies (with the exception of Stockard Channing) is anything above run-of-the-mill, but it's got a lot of great, catchy songs, a very likeable cast, and is just a treat to watch again and again. I was disappointed by this DVD release though, because it's exactly the same as the laser disc, only smaller and you don't have to turn it over. The cast interviews at the end are four years old, and this is really just a delayed release of the 20th Anniversary Edition on DVD. And what fan of Grease needs a cheap, paper booklet of song lyrics? Believe me, we know them all by heart. Truly the most profitable and one of the most popular musicals ever made deserves a better DVD package. The fans certainly deserve it too, having waited so long for this. Boo! to Paramount for, apparently, wanting to wait and pick our pockets again some time down the road when they release the two-disc set with all the extras this movie should have. At least it's in widescreen, which is a totally different viewing experience for anyone who hasn't seen it letterboxed or on the big screen yet. The musical numbers have a much larger scope, with dancers and other action on the sides that had previously been cut off. You will be surprised how many previously unseen guys are on the bleachers with Danny and the gang for "Summer Nights". And to anyone who is planning to buy the full-frame DVD--shame on you! You are truly missing out.

You CAN right a movie about rock&roll!
Most people would think that you could'nt write a good movie about rock&roll. This movie sure proves them wrong. The songs are great, and the movie is great.
I said that the songs were a great part of the movie. Here they are.
1. Grease-5/0
2. Summer Nights-8/10
3. Hopelessly Devoted To You-3/10
4. You're The One That I Want- 10/10
5. Sandy-1/10
6. Beauty School Dropout-5/10
7. Look At Me, I'm Sandra D.-7/10
8. Greased Lightning-9/10
9. It's Raining On Prom Night-3/10
10. Alone at the Drive-In-Movie-1/10
11. Blue Moon-9/10
12. Rock "N" Role is Here To Stay-8/10
13. Those Magic Changes-10/10
14. Hound Dog-4/10
15. Born To Hand Jive-4/10
16. Tears On My Pillow-2/10
17. Mooning-2/10
18. Freddy My Love-0/10
19. Rock "N" Role Party Queen-8/10
20. There Are Worse Things I Could Do-3/10
21. Look At Me, I'm Sandra D.(Reprise)-5/10
22. We Go Togeter-10/10
23. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing-4/10
24 Grease(Reprise)-5/10

As you can see, there are some VERY bad songs, but for the most part, the songs are pretty good. The whole movie was even better than the songs. The whole idea of the movie is a senior high schooler comes to the U.S. and goes to a cheap high school. There, she runs into a guy she met in the summer, who is in a car gang that is against another car gang. Throughout the year, this girl ( her name is Sandy) and her friends deal with the guy(his name is Danny) and his friends. The movie pretty much told about the "typical" high scholl senior's problems, except in a more 60's background. The movie actually took place in the 70's. At the end, Danny's car gang beats the rival gang in a car race, and at the end of the movie, the whole gang of guys and girls gets back together without any problems at the end of the year. The movie is all in all VERY good. Buy it today.

Grease lightning!
(...)

Anyway, "Grease" is one of my favorite movies. It's just one of those timeless gems that will never die (can't say the same for the sequel, though). Every song is a joy and the film couldn't have been casted any better. John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing; all involved give indelibly charming performances. A lot of great films came out of the 70's (The Godfather, A Clockwork Orange, Taxi Driver, Chinatown, Jaws, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, etc., etc...) but "Grease" is still able to hold it's own after all these years. A quintessential film to add to your collection.

As far as the DVD goes, well... it's typical of Paramount to stiff us with what could have been a solid release. If you take into account that almost everyone who buys the disc already knows all the songs and dialogue by heart, the studio could have done lots of fun things with the material. Alas, we only get a songbook (which is admittedly kinda cool) and a documentary. Oh, yeah. And a theatrical trailer. How rare. *scoffs*

A half-assed effort to bring "Grease" to a great medium notwithstanding, I'd highly recommend buying this.

"Summer lovin'... had me a bla-haaast..."

I love this movie
Firstly because it reminds me of a carefree and happy time in my life. I saw this in the summer of 1978 when I was 12 years old and the only thing I had to worry about was making sure I didn't have any overdue library books, keeping the lawn mowed and starting ninth grade in the fall. Secondly because there's some great pop music in this movie, _Hopelessy Devoted to You_ is one of the best pop songs about unrequited attraction ever written. Thirdly because of the subtext of this movie, the lesson this movie teaches you is that in order to get ahead you have to be a slut, just look at the way Olivia Newton John (who was 30 when this movie was made) turns from a good girl at the beginning of the movie into a leather trouser wearing slut at the end. Fourthly I love this movie because all of the actors in it are so obviously too old to be in high school. I figured as a kid that this was because the lead paint factory at the town of Rydell was dumping a lot of stuff into the water supply in those halcyon, pre-EPA days of the 1950s and the resulting heavy metal poisoning made the children of Rydell somewhat slow, which was why they were all still in high school even though they were in their late 20s and early 30s.

Greasy John isn't my cup of grease
As an Australian I find this movie extremely offensive. Why should Sandie have to change and become a greasy fat rude American. She should haved stay the way she was I reckon.

There's a line in this movie about eating sh*t...I agree. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A real embarrassment to Stooge fans!!!
I first saw this 1985 movie on TV many years ago,since I'm a Stooge fan,and at first I really liked this movie.But then a couple of months ago,I picked up a used vhs copy of the film at a pawnshop since I haven't seen this one in years and I thought I might enjoy this one the second time around.BOY,Was I wrong!!! This is by far one of the worst films of its time,especially for a Stooges fan like me! The plotline involves a chubby,obsessed Stooges fan named Howard F.Howard (Josh Mostel) who has been lately seeing the Three Stooges everywhere he goes such as restauraunts,phonebooths,hospital rooms,and even his own job.To stop his addiction,he meets a quirky psychatrist (Sid Caesar,who,by the way,appeared with The Three Stooges in the 1963 classic IT'S A MAD,MAD,MAD,MAD WORLD),but it's not helping so he ends up in a psychiatric hospital for Stooge-a-holics and winds up in all sorts of unfunny and boring comic situations.The film,directed by documentary filmmaker Chuck Workman,combines footage he shot with scenes from the four public domain Stooges shorts "Disorder In The Court",Brideless Groom","Malice In The Palice",and "Sing A Song Of Six Pants",for which,by the way,some
of the scenes from those shorts are COLORIZED!!! Yes,colorized,in some of the dream sequences,which makes it much worser!! This film would have been a lot funnier and better if were made by Columbia Pictures,who own the rights to the Stooges,and may have made the storyline more funnier and should've contained a lot more Stooges clips from their other shorts,but this film wasn't made by Columbia.It was independently produced by Atlantic Releasing Corp.I would advise anyone who loves or hates the Stooges to stay away from this piece-of-garbage film as it not only ruins the comic mastery that the boys made famous in their films,but it's also a real embarrassment to the Three Stooges legacy and their work!!! Avoid this at all costs!!

Underrated
It's kind of sad for two of the reviews. This movie is actually not the worst and I'd really love it if they re-released it. The previous reviews do not do the movie any justice. It's great if you're a great Three Stooges fan.

Stooges Anonymous
This is supposed to be a comedy, but it fails to deliver when it comes to laughs. The plot involves a stooge "addict" who goes through a rehabilitation program to help him kick the habit of watching reruns of old Three Stooges shorts. The clinic employs Pavlovian negative reinforcement whenever the patients (many of whom physically res